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Charleston RN honored with facility’s first DAISY

Keisha Thompson-McClough, RN in the Patriots Harbor Community Living Center at the Charleston VA Medical Center, was honored in a special ceremony Nov. 18 as the recipient of the facility’s first DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses.

By Meredith Thomas

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Keisha Thompson-McClough, a registered nurse in the Patriots Harbor Community Living Center at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center, was honored in a special ceremony Nov. 18 as the recipient of the facility’s first DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses.

“We have outstanding nurses throughout our facility,” said Scott Isaacks, director of the Ralph H. Johnson VAMC. “This is a wonderful recognition and it is a true honor to have one of our staff recognized with this award.”

The Ralph H. Johnson VAMC proudly partners with The DAISY Foundation in an effort to honor the exceptional, compassionate care delivered by the many dedicated nurses here and at the community based outpatient clinics throughout the year.

The DAISY (Diseases Attacking the Immune System) Foundation was formed in 1999 by the family of J. Patrick Barnes who died at age 33 of complications from the auto-immune disease Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP).

In honor of Mr. Barnes’ memory, his family felt compelled to express their profound gratitude to nurses for the work they do in caring for patients and their families every day. This is the primary mission of The DAISY Foundation.

Thompson-McClough, whose nomination package included glowing praise from her coworkers, was honored at the ceremony with a certificate, DAISY pin and special statuette representing the care that nurses regularly provide.

“I feel a little overwhelmed, grateful,” said Thompson-McClough after the moving ceremony. “All of our staff here are really worthy of this award. So, I’m just proud.”

Additionally, Nina Green, a licensed practical nurse in the community living center, and Denise Jarecki, a licensed practical nurse on 4B North, were also nominated for awards. They received DAISY pins in recognition of this accomplishment.

“We are always thrilled when a VA hospital signs on,” said Lena Barnes, wife of J. Patrick Barnes and founder of the DAISY foundation. “You serve a very unique patient population. You do incredible work here, and you’re better than you have to be.”

DAISY award honorees are dispersed around the world in more than 1,800 hospitals internationally. In total, 40,000 nurses have received the award while another 400,000 have been nominated.

If you have been the recipient of extraordinary care by a nurse or know a nurse who has provided exceptional care and would like to nominate him or her, please complete the nomination form that can be found on the Charleston VA Medical Center’s website at www.charleston.va.gov and submit it in any of the DAISY drop boxes located around the hospital or contact the DAISY coordinator via email at Jamie.Sicard@va.gov.